


The (not-so-charming) Prince Charming

by MissLiveByThePen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Modern Royalty, Online Dating, Sexual Content, Tinder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-02-26 16:20:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18720649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLiveByThePen/pseuds/MissLiveByThePen
Summary: Alfred meets Arthur on tinder.He’s got baggage.Royal baggage.





	1. Matched

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually inspired by another story (Royal Sh!t by littlemaple) that hasn't been updated in nearly a year. I adored that story and wanted to tweak it a little. By a little, I mean add drama and switch everything around. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Swipe. 

Swipe. 

Swipe. 

Whenever Alfred found himself bored to death, he could usually be found swiping through profiles on tinder. Often times, it ended with matching someone and getting no fucking response. Or, requests for dick pics. Though Alfred was really fucking proud of his dick, he didn’t want to send it to random people on tinder. He was a romantic at heart. Grew up on all those whimsical, happily-ever-after Disney stories that were only proving to be completely and utterly incorrect. 

Swipe. 

That didn’t stop him from swiping through profiles whenever he was bored, though. Sometimes, he did find someone hot and intelligent enough to hold a conversation. Sometimes, he even went out for drinks with them. Usually, though, it ended with both of them ghosting the other because those drinks went nowhere. Since he was in his four year as a mathematics major with a minor in finance, he needed something to distract him from the dull company of numbers and formulas. He needed someone exciting. Needed someone that ignited his passion. Or, at least, someone to buy dinner before wanting to suck his dick. 

Swipe. 

Swipe. 

Swipe. *Match*

Oh. A match. That was a first in a while. Alfred clicked back on the message icon on the app to get a second look at the person he matched with. Typically, he just went through swiping on the first picture. Hey, it was a ‘hot or not’ kind of situation and he fucking knew people judged based on looks. When the profile for ‘Arthur’ pulled up, Alfred made a face at the humongous eyebrows on the guy’s forehead. Jesus, those weren’t attractive. He must have accidentally swiped right on him. Since he wasn’t a complete asshole, Alfred read through the sparse profile with a wrinkled nose. 

Arthur (26)

English Major  
Footballer  
5’9”  
Fourth in line to the throne. 🇬🇧 

Jesus. This guy sounded like an ass-hat. He did have really pretty green eyes, but those were completely overshadowed by the caterpillars on his forehead. Arthur was cute, though. Super douche-y, probably. Like, not all Americans assumed if you were British that you were related to the royal family. He rolled his eyes as he went to unmatch the man when the notification popped up that he had a message. He clicked over and was a little surprised to see the asshole had messaged him. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him, and Alfred was dreadfully bored between classes. Fuck it. He could just ghost him later if he became too annoying. 

(From Arthur) I really want to hear this story about growing up with a polar bear. 

Honest to God, Alfred had forgotten he’d put that on his profile. He’d always been one of those people that overshared and tended to put interesting, attention-grabbing stuff in his summaries. He never expected anyone to read his actual profile, though. He didn’t most of the time. Maybe Arthur wasn’t completely a douche if he took the time to read through the paragraphs on Alfred’s profile. Might as well respond. 

(To Arthur) My Stepdad worked on a wildlife reserve in Canada. He had a cub that was rejected by his mom b/c he was too sickly. Dad brought him home and we raised it. Followed us around like a puppy ‘til he was too big to stay in the house. 

Once he’d typed that out and sent it, he figured that would be enough to sate the man’s curiosity and he’d never get a response. Except, those little bubbles popped up almost instantaneously. 

(From Arthur) If your Instagram wasn’t attached to your profile, I would think you were full of shit. That’s a fucking polar bear in your living room. He’s cute. Chunky ‘you’ was cute, too.

Alright, Alfred was going to block him. ‘Chunky’?? That was just puppy fat! He grumbled to himself as he dropped his phone into his lap and pouted at his hurt feelings. Chunky?? Asshole. His phone buzzed again, but he was determined to ignore it. Which he did for about five seconds before picking it back up to read the message. 

(From Arthur) I hope I didn’t offend you, love. You’re even cuter now if your profile pictures are anything to go by. I don’t usually swipe right on guys that do the stupid Leaning Tower of Pisa pose, but you seem sweet. I can forgive the tacky tourist tendencies. 

Who the fuck did he think he was? Alfred’s temper was famous in his family. He could catch an attitude really quick. Like right now. 

(To Arthur) I don’t need you to forgive a goddamn thing I do. 

Since his temper are already on simmer, Alfred jerked up his backpack and stomped out of the library to cool off a bit. He just needed to calm down before class. If he didn’t, he wasn’t going to get a damn thing accomplished. When he finally made it to the fountain in front of the library, he sat down to text his brother about the asshole on tinder when he saw he had another message. Figuring it was the asshole chewing him out, Alfred opened it up to read the wall of hate.  


(From Arthur) Feisty, too. We should have coffee sometime this week. Are you free soon?

Who did stuff like this? Feisty? This guy had to be a catfish. Maybe one of Alfred’s asshole friends dicking around with him. Or, he was just an asshole that expected to fuck and leave. Fine. He’d get the last laugh on whoever it was. He’d show up to this coffee date. He’d be the most obnoxious person in the entire world. He’d be this guy’s worse nightmare. 

(To Arthur) Sure. How’s tomorrow at 3 sound? We could meet at Grounds Coffee. 

As he received an affirmative response, Alfred slipped his phone into his pocket and jogged towards the bus stop. He was skipping his classes today because he needed to mentally and physically prepare for this date. He was going to fuck Arthur’s entire day up. 

Stupid fake profiles. 

Stupid fake princes. 

Stupid fake Arthur.


	2. Henry the 1/8th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred googles the royal family and tells corny math jokes. Despite this, Arthur thinks he's adorable.

Operation ‘Fuck Up Arthur’s Day’ was quickly underway from the moment Alfred woke up the next morning. Since he was planning to be the most obnoxious person on the entire planet, he planned to dress like he was going to class and not a date. Old, faded blue jeans and a graphic t-shirt with a terribly corny math joke on it. He tossed that into a pile to get wrinkly and placed his old, beat-up converses right on top. There. He would be the epitome of American college student. 

It just pissed him off. He knew this was some weird catfish. Like, even if he knew what the royal family looked like, why would they be on tinder in America? It didn’t make any sense and Alfred wanted to say that to the person’s face. If they even showed up to Grounds Coffee. With his luck, he’d miss hanging out with his friends for a no-show. 

With his outfit planned, Alfred spent most of the morning working on his missed assignments and getting caught up on homework. His head hurt a little by the end of it, but it was a good distraction from the upcoming date. 

As he logged off his math homework, the overwhelming urge to just look at the royal family overcame him. As an American, he didn’t really give two shits about them, but he was curious. Why would some random catfish choose someone so obvious? The guy had to be handsome, right? Alfred let out a soft sigh before typing in ‘British Royal Family’ and watched the results populate. 

Newspaper articles were the first to pop up on his screen. Three in particular caught his eye. 

“Party Prince discharged from Navy.”

“What will Prince Arthur do now?”

“Queen Anne surprisingly quiet over son’s disappearance from public.”

Alfred tilted his head to the side before scrolling down to click on the Wikipedia link to the House of Kirkland. It gave a long history of the house dating back to the 1800s, but he’d never been one for history and scrolled to the current royals. A picture from the previous year’s charity gala greeted him and he clicked on it to enlarge the portrait. 

Queen Anne stood tall in the forefront. Her red hair styled into delicate curls and pinned back underneath a tiny hat. She looked mean, if he were honest with himself. The way she carried herself was strong and that look in her green eyes said, ‘I don’t take shit from no one.’ Alfred thought she was a pretty lady to be in her late 50s. 

He scanned over the men beside her. All were red-headed except the last, most disgruntled looking man. The label said that one was Prince Arthur and, damn, he looked unhappy in all of his photos. Alfred clicked on the link that took him to Arthur’s wikipage and groaned once he realized how long it was. He scanned the subtitles along the side with that same wrinkled nose.

1\. Early life  
a. Prince Edward’s Death  
b. Expulsion from Academy 

2\. Education  
a. Football Injury

3\. Royal Navy  
a. Discharge

4\. Personal life  
a. Failed engagement to Viscountess Marianne de Bonnefoy  
b. Sexuality rumours 

5\. Titles, styles, honours and arms

6\. Scandals

7\. Ancestry

8\. See Also

9\. Notes

10\. References

11\. External Links

Alfred lazily scrolled through until he made it to the pictures. The first few were from Arthur’s childhood. Images of him holding onto his Dad’s hand or being carried on the shoulders of his eldest brother. It looked like his Dad died somewhere between his childhood and teenage years because the tall blond man disappeared, and Arthur became sullen and more removed from the pictures. 

They took a turn, actually. 

No longer were the pictures of Arthur the sweet family pictures, but snapshots of him in bars. Snapshots of him drunk or high or just partying. He was still in the family pictures, but he seemed so far removed from everyone around him. It was actually a little sad. How dare this asshole use this poor guy’s face and name to catfish people in America? Alfred was going to give him a huge piece of his mind and probably a foot up his ass. 

He couldn’t dwell on the sad prince anymore because it was already 2:30 and he needed to get to Grounds soon. He tugged on his clothes and shoes before jogging there. He was a little late but managed to get a good peak into the coffee shop. At first, it didn’t look like anyone had shown up. See? He knew it would be a catfish. He knew it would be someone fucking with him. 

He turned to leave and wound up running smack into another blond. A green-eyed blond. A green-eyed blond with monstrous eyebrows and a grimace on his face. Fuck, he looked just like his pictures and fuck was he handsome in person. Except those unfortunate eyebrows, of course. He probably shouldn't mention those. 

Except, Alfred’s brain hadn’t quite caught up to his mouth yet. “Fuck,” he whispered in shock, “those eyebrows are real.” 

A look passed over Arthur’s face that screamed ‘this bitch’, but he didn’t say anything as he steadied himself by placing his hands on the American’s chest. It was almost like he expected something else. Expected Alfred to fawn over him, but he wasn’t getting that from Alfred F. Jones. Knowing now that he wasn’t being catfished, he was still really fucking pissed about being called chunky and feisty. 

He opened his mouth to tell this asshole that before those green eyes glanced down to his chest. “Distraptor over timeraptor equals velociraptor?” He snorted at the picture of the dinosaur. “You’re a cute nerd.”

Alfred let out an audible squawk, stepping back and flailing a little to put distance between them. “And you’re a douche! I was not chunky and I’m not feisty and I don’t care about your fancy-smancy title, so there.” 

He watched at this douchebag nodded his head in understanding before pointing towards the coffee shop, “still want that coffee?” He must have looked like a gaping fish as he stood there with his mouth open and his head tilted to the side. Arthur only laughed as he reached out to tweak his chin, “c’mon, love, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” 

Alfred jerked his face away from the royal-pain-in-his-ass and, against his better judgement, walked into the coffeeshop. Arthur led him to a back table where he sat against the window and tapped his fingers on the tabletop. He looked, well, nervous or agitated. Alfred supposed he had good reason to be agitated because Alfred had just yelled at him and called him a douche. Maybe he should apologize? Or just ignore the fact that he was sitting in front of the ‘Party Prince’? He was wearing a fucking sweater vest. Where did he party? The library? In his panic to push away the silence between them, Alfred went straight to his favorite thing in the entire world. 

Corny math jokes. 

“Hey,” he said to get the man’s attention, “why are circles so hot?” When Arthur’s brows furrowed together in confusion and he gave a little shrug, Alfred continued with a sly grin stretching across his face, “because they’re 360 degrees.” The sudden exhale and hint of a smile encouraged him. Obviously, he continued forward with another one. “What did the zero say to the eight?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea,” Arthur responded as he leaned forward to listen with that ghost of a smile becoming even larger. 

“Nice belt,” Alfred quipped with a short laugh. “You’ll have to physically stop me at this point. I’m on a roll. Oh! I have one for you,” he leaned forward with his eyes narrowed, “what do you call friends who love math? Algebros, duh!”

“That one was the absolute worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” the prince laughed, shaking his head until he could stop laughing. Alfred had to admit; he had a good laugh. He looked a lot happier now than he did in the pictures. “I’m Arthur, by the way. I didn’t quite know how to respond after your little speech outside. Most people don’t chide me,” he didn’t say it as an accusation, but with a hint of pride in his voice. 

Alfred was, obviously, proud of himself. "I'm Alfred," He gave a little shrug as he puffed up his chest, “and I'm just a little sensitive about the chunky thing. To be honest, when I agreed to this meeting, I thought you were a catfish. I didn’t think I’d actually be sitting here with the person behind the profile. How’re you liking America?” How else was he going to talk to a fucking prince? It wasn’t like Arthur was hiding it. He’d been fairly open about it in his profile, but Alfred didn’t really care about his title. Looked like he’d lived a miserable life underneath it. 

“What? No questions about the royal family? No curious inquiries if my brother is planning to marry or if I’m going to be allowed back home after the ‘stunts’ I pulled?” 

He laughed because those seemed like important questions to someone who’d followed whatever drama Arthur was involved in back home. Alfred had been far too busy getting a degree to ever worry about celebrity news. “As long as you didn’t kill anybody, why should I care?” 

It seemed to shock the prince as he settled back into his seat. It was almost like the fight had gone from him. He wasn’t used to someone treating him like a real person. What did he expect, though? Some Americans went crazy over this idea of celebrity. If you wanted to be treated like a normal person, act like one. He really wished he had some coffee right now. They were at the coffee shop but bypassed the counter to have an awkward staring contest at this table. He glanced back before standing up, “I’m going to order something. What can I get you? My treat since I have tons more terrible math jokes to tell you.”

“Latte,” his date responded with a sigh of relief. Alfred gave him a nod as he began to walk to the counter before the prince stopped him. “Alfred,” he said softly, “who invented arithmetic?”

Was he asking, Alfred questioned, but only shrugged his shoulders as he leaned his hip against the chair. “I don’t know. Who?”

“Henry the 1/8th.” 

Alfred chuckled as he reached out to clap Arthur’s shoulder, letting his hand linger there for a moment. “It’s on, Artie. Let me grab our drinks. I’m going to pull out all the terrible jokes.” 

Operation ‘Fuck Up Arthur’s Day’ was quickly changing to Operation ‘Fuck Arthur’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to review! I've really enjoyed reading (and responding) to your messages.


	3. I've got 99 problems and Arthur is one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second dates are better with haggis.

The coffee date was a glorious disaster. They drank half-decent lattes in that back table for the better part of the afternoon. Telling each other terrible puns or corny dad jokes until they were both muffling their giggles with the backs of their hands. 

So maybe it hadn’t been a disaster at all, just an awkward little blimp in their growing relationship because Alfred walked away with two things that afternoon; Arthur’s phone number and a load of new puns to try out on his tutoring class. 

Since they’d neglected to actually have a serious conversation on their first date, they’d began playing a haphazard game of 20 questions over text. Sometimes it was silly stuff. Arthur’s first question had been about pineapples on pizza. Alfred rightfully answered that it was an abomination to society. Alfred’s rebuttal was a very serious question on exactly what digestive biscuits were. Turns out, they were simply cookies. 

Other times, they divulged into more serious conversation topics. Since their tentative relationship was still so new, neither gave too many details. Alfred asked what a British prince was doing at a university in the United States and Arthur simply told him that he needed a chance in scenery. Arthur asked why the American was so sensitive about his weight and Alfred was honest in telling him about the bullying he experienced in middle school. 

Most of the times, their conversations seemed meaningless, but they were slowly learning about each other. Alfred had already found out that Arthur’s favorite flowers were roses and that he loved to garden. One night, he even sent Alfred a few pictures of the tiny windowsill garden he had at his apartment. In return, he’d sent Arthur a picture of the doodles he did whenever he was bored. They weren’t anything special, but the other man seemed to think they were cute. 

Everything was a tentative step towards something ‘more’. Granted, Alfred didn’t have the slightest idea what the ‘more’ would be, but he was excited about the journey to get there. 

*Ding*

He was in the middle of his business class when Arthur texted him again. Embarrassed at the noise in the quietness of the room, he gave the disgruntled student in front of him an apologetic smile as he turned off the sound on his phone. After putting in his passcode, he glanced down to read the message because he was fairly certain Arthur had a class today. 

(From Arthur) Want to grab lunch? My treat this time? 

*Buzz*

(From Arthur) The International Student Center is hosting an international buffet. I’ve been promised food from home and there should be plenty other options. 

Of course, he did. He didn’t even care if the only option was haggis, he’d go on these adventures with Arthur. He really just wanted to be neat him. Texting him was one thing but hearing him laugh was another. It made his heart all fluttery. 

(To Arthur) As long as there’s no beans on my toast, we’re good.

He sat his phone down to jot down the new notes on the board. He heard his phone buzz a few times but ignored it in favor of finishing the slide. Working on a relationship and keeping up with school was hard work. He dropped his pencil against his desk and eagerly checked his messages. 

(From Arthur) I feel personally attacked by that comment. 

(From Arthur) Your taste buds have been ruined by fast food. 

(From Arthur) I’ll fix them for you. 

Alfred snorted as he rolled his eyes at the comments. He’d learned that Arthur wasn’t one to send a massive sheet of emojis and he had a dry sense of humor. His responses were always the exact opposite. He sent back a trail of laughing emojis with a final one with being the exasperation emoji. 

(From Arthur) Laugh now. We’ll see who’s laughing when you have the best food that’s ever passed your lips. See you at 1?

That same giddy excitement settled in his stomach again. He didn’t understand why Arthur made him feel this way. He’d had plenty of second dates that were fun, but none of them made him feel so excited and overwhelmed at the same time. After responding back a ‘thumbs up’ emoji, Alfred refocused on his class. Even with the excitement of his love life, he couldn’t let his schoolwork lag behind. 

\----

When 1 o’clock rolled around, Alfred was just jogging across the street to where Arthur was leaning against the railing of the concrete stairs leading up to the International Student Center. It was a recently renovated facility and still had the ‘newness’ look to it. Alfred admired the intricate little details on the steps and realized they were flags from every nation. Cool. 

“Did you come to admire the steps?” 

Alfred rolled his eyes as he jogged up the few steps that separated them to playfully nudge the prince. “Depends on what gross food you’re going to feed me.” 

Arthur caught his hand and gave his fingers a little squeeze. Oh. Wow. That was sweet. He was just a tiny bit shocked at the touch. He didn’t mind. Oh fuck no, he wanted those fingers on other parts of his body, too. He just didn’t quite know how to react except to tangle their few fingers together as a show of acceptance. It rewarded him with the cutest blush in the entire world. 

Fuck. He wanted to kiss him. 

If it showed on his face, Arthur didn’t say anything because he tugged Alfred up the stairs once they both realized they’d been standing there like idiots for far too long. “Don’t complain too much. I think you’re going to find that a lot of the food tastes better than it sounds.” 

Alfred doubted that, but he trusted Arthur. “Just don’t tell me what’s in anything.” 

Arthur laughed as he led him to the massive conference area that had been turned into a buffet. Tables lined the walls of the room with massive dishes and little plaques that explained the dish. He’d always been one to enjoy food, but he felt just a bit out of place as he followed Arthur around to the various tables. 

Obviously, Arthur loaded him down a plate of British cuisine, but they also picked up some Nigerian Amala, an Ecuadorean Llapingachos, and a helping of Indian butter chicken with a huge hunk of naan bread. Even if he’d never tried these types of foods before, Alfred had always been adventurous. He did ask Arthur to keep the poritions small so he wasn’t wasting anything he didn’t like. He tried each thing and found out that the flavors were different than he imagined them to be. It became an exciting game for Arthur. Whenever he was finished with one plate, Arthur would return to the buffet to find something new for them to try. Their little table was covered in half-empty plates. 

When he started on the British cuisine, Arthur named off the dishes with just a touch of homesickness in his voice. It was a sweet moment, but that didn’t stop Alfred from picking fun at the dishes. 

“Explain to me why it’s called ‘Bubble and squeak’?” He poked at the little portion of potatoes and cabbage. He loved both things, but his grandma made the best cabbage in the entire world and he doubted this would stack up against it. He scooped up a bit with his fork and chewed on his carefully. It wasn’t bad, honestly. “Did you get this a lot at home?”

“Something about the cabbage cooking makes the squeaking sound?” His last question got him a shake of the head as he swallowed down his own portion, “not really, to be honest. It was something my roommate at school would order whenever he was feeling lonely.” He tapped another food for Alfred to try, “you’ll like the pie. It’s mostly meat and gravy.”

Alfred tried it all. Sometimes he made a face that had Arthur laughing into his napkin. Other times, he requested the prince to bring him another little bite of a specific item. It was a nice date, even if Alfred’s phone kept going off. He glanced at it once to see his brother’s name across the screen and turned it completely off. Whatever Matthew needed could wait. 

“I’m really surprised how good it all was,” Alfred told him as he leaned over to table to steal another napkin from Arthur’s pile. “Even your weird British food was nice. Thank you for inviting me.”

“You’re welcome, love. I think this is a far better first date,” Arthur said it with a hopeful tone in his voice, which had Alfred agreeing immediately. Vastly superior in every way. Neither of them had even insulted the other. Automatically a win. Even after the students began cleaning up the buffet, the two stayed at their little table to talk.

When they were finally run out by the janitorial service, they discovered that their apartments were in the same direction. Alfred totally didn’t squeal, either, when Arthur slipped his hand into his own and held his hand the entire walk. They didn’t even need to talk. They just comfortably walked without a care in the world. When they did need to branch off to go their separate ways, it was Alfred that kept their hands interwoven together. He knew he should release the prince, but he kept wondering how awesome it would be to kiss him. When he couldn’t take it any longer, he wrapped his arm around Arthur’s waist to pull him even closer, and pressed their lips together. 

“I’ve wanted to do that since the first time we met,” he admitted with a tiny blush as he pulled away. 

Arthur laughed as he reached up to stroke his hand over Alfred’s cheek. “Same.” He leaned in for another kiss, laughing as a passing car startled them with a honk of its horn. He was still so close as he pecked Alfred’s cheek. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

Alfred felt like his tongue couldn’t work, even if he wanted to so he nodded his head furiously before setting off in the opposite direction of Arthur. He was still buzzing with the excitement of kissing Arthur that he had to tell his brother. He turned his phone back on and was greeted with four missed calls, five missed text messages, and over 9000 notifications on twitter. 

“Huh?” He whispered to himself as he pulled up his text messages. 

(From Matthew) Is this you? -link attached

(From Matthew) I swear to God, Alfred. WTF. Answer the phone. 

(From Matthew) Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. It is you. I’m literally watching the news rn. You’ve made national fucking news. Why didn’t you tell me? – link attacked

(From Matthew) Please call me back!!!!!

Alfred felt like he’d missed something huge. He tapped the link and jostled his apartment keys as he waited for it to load. It was taking fucking forever. Except, when it finally loaded, Alfred dropped his keys on the ground and stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Party Prince cozies up to handsome blond. Who is he?”

No. No. No. No. 

Sure enough, a stream of pictures loaded from their day. The most prominent was Alfred holding hands with Arthur on the steps of the International Student Center. The next few were pictures taken from inside the center. One looked to be Arthur sweetly feeding him some kind of food, but Alfred immediately recognized it as the time the asshole tried to feed him haggis. 

Fuck. Shit. Fuck. 

Well, at least they didn’t know who he was, right? He tapped the second link and felt his stomach dropped. 

“Handsome blond spotted with Prince Arthur is former track and field prodigy Alfred F. Jones.”

No. No. No. No. 

He knew Arthur probably hadn’t even seen the news yet. He bet the man avoided it like the plague, but he had to tell him. He tapped Arthur’s contact and barely waited for him to pick up. 

“Arthur, we have a huge problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the reviews! They keep me motivated and I hope to hear more of your thoughts!


	4. Rule Britannia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred thinks Arthur's bed is nice, if only he wasn't having a crisis with etiquette.

It had been hours since the news broke. Hours since local reporters started camping outside Alfred’s apartment. He’d done the only logical thing and slipped out his back window before panicking and calling Arthur when he realized he didn’t know where to go. In turn, the prince had a car sent to pick him up and now he was currently faking sleep while he was curled up in the man’s bed. Honestly, he wanted to be in Arthur’s bed, but not like this. 

Not alone.

He peeked out from underneath the blanket to see the blond man staring at a Skype screen with his head in his hands. He looked stressed. Alfred wanted to slip out of bed and massage those tense shoulders, but he was supposed to be pretending to sleep. Arthur had been tense and quiet the entire time Alfred babbled about the reporters. It was only when he began to doze a little that Arthur became a flurry of activity. 

He was constantly on his phone. Texting people Alfred didn’t have any business spying on and finally calling someone to talk in short, clipped tones about the rumors. Alfred wanted to ‘wake-up’, but Arthur left the bed to sit in front of his computer. He really didn’t think anything was going to happen until the screen lit up with the black picture of a ‘call’. Alfred felt his breath catch as Arthur rushed to accept the call and put on his best smile for the small group of people on the screen. 

“Hello mum,” Arthur greeted with a soft sigh, “Alistair, Liam, Rhys.” In the background, Alfred was trying his hardest to stay as still as possible. He didn’t know if they could see the bed and he wasn’t going to find out. 

“What are you doing Arthur?” The voice wasn’t too unlike Arthur’s own, except it was feminine and sounded just as tired. “I thought America would give you a chance to stay out of the spotlight. Yet, here we are again. The media is eating this up.” 

“I know,” Arthur whispered. He sounded so damn defeated that Alfred wanted to stand up and tell off the Queen of fucking England for him. “I just felt normal for a bit. No one recognized me, not really. Or, if they did, they thought it was a joke.” Alfred certainly had. Granted, Arthur did have his royal lineage in his Tinder profile. He was sure he wouldn’t mention that to his mother, though. 

“Ya got cocky,” a new, masculine voice entered into the fray. Alfred shifted on the bed just a little to get a better look at the screen. Red haired with the same green eyes and large eyebrows. He sounded like he was an asshole. 

“Shut up, Alistair,” Arthur hissed in response, “I didn’t get cocky. I want to have a nice evening with someone I really liked. It’s not like I’m galivanting across bars and falling into bed with nameless people.” 

“Again,” the asshole interrupted, “you’re not doing it again. Christ, Artie, we sent you to America hoping you’d sober up. Hoping you’d make good decisions. Not running around with some yank.”

“I am sober!” Arthur shouted in response. Alfred’s heart broke for him. He could see the red rising along the back of his neck. “Did those pictures show me in a bar? Fucking no! I was eating lunch. I was minding my own damn business. Alfred was…he doesn’t deserve this, either.”

The older woman finally placed a hand on Alistair’s chest to push him away from the screen. The other two shuffled behind her until the three men framed her like some kind of honor guard. Arthur looked so alone in the midst of that frame. “Boys, we’re not going to argue and we’re certainly not going to shout like savages.” He could see those green eyes staring straight at the camera, “Arthur, love, we’re right to be worried. After you broke off your engagement, you went wild. We’re worried. Now with this American,” she paused just long enough for Alfred to be offended, “we don’t know what to expect. At least Marianne knew our society.” 

Arthur was quiet for a moment. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his breathing. “You don’t have to worry, Mum. Alfred…Alfred isn’t like Marianne. Do you know he hasn’t asked me a single thing about being a prince? He hasn’t asked about money or fame or any of it.” He let out a wet laugh, “he tells me corny math jokes and asks me about food. He doesn’t care I’m Prince Arthur. He…”

“That could be a problem,” one of the other men interrupted. This one had longer red hair with the faintest of waves that framed his face. He still had those shocking green eyes and humongous eyebrows, though. “Even if you’re not first in line to the throne, you have familial obligations. You need a spouse that can support you in that.”

Christ. Wasn’t it a little early to talk about marriage? Arthur seemed to think the same thing as he grunted his disapproval. “Rhys, you can’t just jump into talking about marriage. We’ve been on two dates. I like him and I don’t want to run him off with these far-off obligations that may never come to be.”

For the first time the entire Skype call, his mother’s face softened just a bit. She gave him a smile. “You like him a lot?” At Arthur’s nod, she reached up to fiddle with a strand of her hair. “We will have our PR specialist handle this. If you are going to continue to see this boy, you need to prepare him for the challenges.”

Alfred wondered what kind of challenges he was going to face. Obviously, he’d have to deal with the media hounding him, but surely, they would eventual let it go. The media’s attention span was short, and they would find another news source soon enough. He could handle it. He’d been in the news before. Alfred had been an up-and-coming track and field star until he tore his ACL in his sophomore year of college. He’d been a beast at relays and hurdles, but his injury knocked him out. Through physical therapy, he could run, but he’d never compete again. 

“Mum,” Arthur’s voice cut through his thoughts, “you don’t have to assign more security. I’m fine. No one has tried to touch me.” He watched as he tried to argue with his mother to no avail. Arthur’s security detail would increase. Part of Alfred was glad to hear that because he already felt a bit of protectiveness towards Arthur. He wanted him safe. 

“Still, it’ll be good for you to…”

She trailed off as Alfred’s phone came alive on the bedside table. He jolted at the sharp sound and quickly fumbled for it. Which only succeeded in him knocking it to the floor and causing even more of a ruckus as he scrambled to grab it. 

Fucking telemarketers. 

The room was staunchly quiet as he lifted his eyes up to see Arthur’s face barely concealing a smile. Asshole. He thought this was hilarious. Alfred glanced behind him to see Arthur’s family peering at him with curious expressions across their faces. Well, his Mom looked like that, Arthur’s brothers looked like they’d been gifted a lifetime supply of teasing material. 

“At least he’s not naked,” Alistair half-whispered to the red-head beside him. It caused Arthur to whip around with a furious look on his face and Arthur’s mother to dismiss her giggling sons. They marched off camera still tittering and making jokes at Arthur’s expense, which really did piss Alfred off. 

“Sorry,” he told Arthur with a sheepish grin, “I’ll head into the living room. Let you,” he waved his hand towards the computer screen, “finish.” 

“No, stay.”

Alfred blinked. That wasn’t Arthur. Shit, that was his mother. Was he allowed to deny the Queen of England? His ancestors fought this whole war in the 1700s to make sure he never had to listen to another Queen again. But it was also Arthur’s mother. Instead of slipping away towards the living room, he stepped closer to Arthur and placed a comforting hand against the middle of his shoulders. He could feel the tension leaking from Arthur at his touch. 

“Tell me about yourself.”

Alfred hesitated once more because he was totally off his game. What should he tell the Queen of England that would convince her he was good enough for her youngest son? Fuck, should he bow? What did he need to call her? Ma’am? Your Highness? Your Grace? 

“Mum, no.” Arthur interrupted before he could even take a chance to respond. “His name is Alfred. He’s a maths student here at the university. He’s a good man and that’s all you need to be concerned about right now.” Arthur glanced over to Alfred before gently taking the American’s hand, “later, when this isn’t so new, you can learn about him. Right now, I think it’s time for you to say ‘goodbye’.” 

Queen Anne looked like she’d just finished sucking on a lemon as she leveled her son with a firm glance. “We’ll discuss this later, Arthur. Farewell.” She flicked her eyes over to Alfred, “take care, Alfred.” 

When the screen went black, Alfred stood there with his heart palpitating outside of his chest. He felt Arthur squeeze his hand, but totally ignored it in favor of propping himself against the edge of the desk. “Your brothers are dicks.”

Arthur snorted as he rubbed his free hand over his face. “Yeah, yeah they are.” He reached out to tug Alfred’s beltloops until the American boldly straddled his lap. 

“Oh, I like this much better than meeting your mother. Who, you know, is the fucking Queen of England.” Alfred hissed as he sunk into Arthur’s embrace. “She’s probably met the president.”

“I’ve met the president,” Arthur interjected with a sly grin. “I’ve also met several world leaders. Being a prince is not all fun and games all the time. Sometimes they make us dress up in stuffy clothing and chat with foreign dignitaries. It’s boring.” 

Alfred didn’t know if Arthur was trying to introduce him to those ‘future obligations’ that his brother was talking about earlier, but he appreciated the attempt. “Maybe you just didn’t have the right partner there with you to make it fun?” He suggested with a wink. “I bring the party everywhere I go.”

Arthur laughed as he soothed his hand up Alfred’s spine and nudged him down for a kiss. “Oh, love. The world isn’t ready for you.” 

No, it wasn’t, but fuck the world. Arthur was the only thing that mattered.


	5. Alfred’s Guide to having a British (English?) Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trading beans for hashbrowns was perfectly logical in Alfred's eyes, especially where breakfast was concerned.

Five magical months. 

They’d been together five absolutely fantastic months, which is the longest any of Alfred’s relationships had ever lasted before. Hell, at this point, they were practically married in his eyes. Might as well go on and buy the fucking ring because he was dedicated to Prince Arthur with all the long-ass titles in his name. Even right now, as he watched Arthur race across the field in front of him chasing after a soccer ball. 

Alfred would have rather been doing anything else on his first Friday free of school or work, but his love for Arthur had his ass sitting in itchy grass while he tried not to look too concerned about the storm clouds overhead. They weren’t even playing on a proper pitch with proper bleachers. Apparently, Arthur met up with some students every so often to play in an intermural league. The massive grounds in front of their Student Center served as a ‘catch-all’ for any and all outdoor activity. 

He could see at least four groups of people playing with a frisbee, a guy sleeping in a hammock, and a group of girls chatting near the trees. Of course, there was also Arthur and his pack of ‘mates’ running across the middle like wild men. Alfred was trying to be supportive, but it felt like he was watching hockey. Nothing made sense to him unless something went through the goal posts. 

There had been a hysterical moment at the very beginning of the match when the kid from Australia, Jett, suggested Alfred be their referee. Not knowing there as a fucking difference between the red card and the yellow card, he just threw them up whenever he felt like it. Usually, whenever someone pushed Arthur down. He totally didn’t agree with Jett that he turned a blind eye to Arthur’s aggression. 

No siree, that didn’t happen at all. 

Before they even made it to the ‘halftime’ portion of their game, there had been widespread protests over Alfred’s unfair calling and the cards were taken from him. He consoled himself with digging into his laptop case for printer paper and making his own signs. 

/Boo, you suck/ and /That’s my man/ were his top favorites right now. Hell, sometimes for shits and giggles, he tossed up the /Boo, you suck/ whenever Arthur jogged close enough to see him. It always ended with him throwing Alfred a weird-ass reverse peace sign. He wouldn’t have thought anything about it until he noticed a few of Arthur’s friends snickering anytime he did it. Automatically, Alfred knew it wasn’t anything good and Google only confirmed his suspicions. So, the next time Arthur rounded near him and he received his inevitable ‘V’, Alfred winked and called out ‘only if you brought lube’. It ended with Arthur’s face turning red and him avoiding Alfred’s end for a bit. He always came back, though, so it must not have been too terrible of an idea. 

When the sun finally began sinking and Alfred was fighting off mosquitoes as big as chihuahuas, they finally called the game. Victory was apparently sweet because Arthur pecked his lips despite the jeering of his teammates. While it was a sweet moment, the man was sweaty and gross. 

“Congrats, but,” Alfred wrinkled his nose, “you smell.” 

“Ahh, thanks, pet.” Arthur drawled as he grabbed his bag and blatantly ignored the bewildered look his boyfriend was giving him. Had Arthur just called him ‘pet’. Who the fuck called anyone ‘pet’ as an endearment? His boyfriend was weird. Cute, but really fucking weird. 

Since he wasn’t going to get left behind, Alfred jogged to catch up with the other man. He looped their fingers together, “you should come to my apartment tonight. My roommate is out of town and I’ve got ice cream.” Which should have been enticing enough. Who turned down ice cream? He’d just have to sweeten the deal, “I’ll make breakfast in the morning, too. Not the beans, though, that's still weird.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes at the ‘beans’ comment, “Are you inviting me to spend the night, Mister Jones?” 

Well, fuck, yeah, he was. They hadn’t really seen each other naked yet, but they’d spent the night at each other’s apartments. It was easy sometimes. Arthur’s apartment was closer to his Tuesday and Thursday tutoring class and Alfred’s apartment was closer to Arthur’s Monday and Wednesday classes. So, it was just convenient for them to switch off staying at each other’s places. “I am, your Highness,” he quipped in return as he bumped their hips together. “We never finished watching that movie together.”

“For good reason. You didn’t sleep all night and we only made it through half of the movie.” He drawled with a frown on his face. “I have an early Skype session with Alistair tomorrow. I am not looking like I haven’t slept in days because that dick will make some quip about you keeping me up all night.” 

“He won’t be wrong,” Alfred pointed out. He did have a really bad habit of watching scary movies and terrifying himself over them. It wasn’t fun when you were alone, but with Arthur there, he could cuddle up against the man until he passed out from exhaustion. 

Arthur sighed, “no, he won’t be wrong, but he’ll mean it in a gross way. They already tease me about you every time I call home. I don’t want to give them any more ammunition.”

“You know I could beat them up for you.” Alfred graciously offered as he released Arthur’s hand and jogged in front of him. He raised up his sleeves and flexed his arm muscles. “Look at this power,” he cooed as he struck another pose, ignoring the wheezing laughter coming from his boyfriend. “You laugh now, but these babies were meant to beat up dickhead brothers.” 

When Arthur finally managed to console himself, he graciously patted Alfred’s shoulders as he nudged him along. “While I’m sure you’ll be able to take him out, I’m only allowing you one international incident during our relationship. Do you want to waste it on Alastair?” 

He had a point. It did open up another teeny, tiny worry in the back of Alfred’s mind, though. If their relationship continued, would Alfred be obligated to join him on family business. One of his brothers had mentioned it, but did Arthur expect him to step into the role, too? He wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to bring it up. Alfred might be head-over-heels for Arthur, but the man tended to shield his true emotions and thoughts. Sometimes, Alfred found himself wondering just what the man was thinking. “I’ll save it,” he decided, “for something good.” 

Arthur was smiling, even as the clouds overhead rumbled with thunder. Just as they turned the corner to Alfred’s apartment, the bottom seemed to fall out of the sky. They were drenched as they raced the rest of the way and huddled underneath the little awning of Alfred’s apartment as his cold fingers fiddled with the keys. Not that opening the door helped anything because the A/C was on and it was even colder inside. 

Alfred moved towards the bathroom to grab a few towels for them. After tossing one to Arthur, he began drying his hair with the other one. He placed his smeared glasses on the table beside him so they wouldn’t get lost. “You can hop in the shower. I washed some of your clothes from the last time you stayed, so I can leave them on the counter for you.” 

“Or you could join me,” He couldn’t fully see the man, but he felt the warmth of his breath against the back of his neck. Oh, that was a tantalizing suggestion that immediately sent a flush of warmth to the base of Alfred’s spine. Arthur didn’t wait for his answer, simply soothed his hands across his shoulders. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.” 

Another flush of heat settled along his spine. He would have been an idiot to say ‘no’ to Arthur. He left his glasses sitting on the counter and made his way into his bathroom. The shower was already running when he stepped inside. He hesitated outside the shower door for a moment because this was a big step. He was bursting full of body confidence, but this would be a change in their relationship. Was he ready for it? 

He was. 

Alfred unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them in the corner and tossed his shirt alongside it. His Captain America boxers weren’t too far behind. He opened the door to see Arthur’s lean, naked back turned towards him. Also, that hella fine ass. Alfred moved forward into the spray to wrap his arms around Arthur’s waist.

“What took you so long?” Arthur questioned as he leaned back, shielding his eyes from the water. “I thought you weren’t going to show for a minute.” 

Alfred didn’t answer, just pressed a kiss to Arthur’s shoulder. It prompted the prince to fully turn in Alfred’s arms and give him a proper kiss. Searing and remarkable even with the water dripping into his eyes and the cool tile causing goosebumps along his arms. Even with an armful of the very naked and very sexy object of his desire, he was a little embarrassed when his cock began to rise to the occasion. “S.sorry,” he apologized with pink cheeks. 

“Don’t apologize.” Arthur handled it with a steady hand slick with shampoo. His eyes following Arthur’s hands made him realize he wasn’t the only one with a growing problem. Arthur reached down to press both of their cocks together and stroking them as his lips plundered Alfred’s own. It felt incredible. His toes curled as Arthur’s steady and fast strokes tugged on every nerve ending in his body until he was spilling against the man’s thigh. Arthur continued stroking until he reached his own completion. 

He pulled away to catch his breath, “can you be here every time I shower? Christ, that felt amazing. Totally didn’t expect that.” 

Arthur snorted as he playfully smacked his shoulder, letting the water wash away their cum. “What else was I going to do? Jerk off while you watched?”

“You act like I wouldn’t have enjoyed that.” Alfred drawled as he flicked water in Arthur’s direction, going the extra route and dunking the man’s head further into the spray. Arthur’s retaliation was to toss a water-and-soap heavy loofa in his face. The soap splashed everywhere and leaked into his mouth. “Blah,” he gagged as he opened his mouth to the spray to clean it out. “Jerk.”

“I believe you started it.” Arthur pointed out as he used the shampoo to wash his hair. Alfred was only momentarily distracted by the simple fact that the prince would walk around smelling like him for a few hours. Damn, that was a nice thought. 

With both of them squeaky clean, Alfred insisted they turn in early. He ordered from their favorite Chinese takeout place and secretly queued up a horror movie for them to watch. Arthur bitched about it for a bit, but he still held Alfred’s hand during the scary parts and checked underneath the bed for any potential murderers. 

It was only when none were found that he finally managed to settle down. Having Arthur at his side just made Alfred sleep better. 

If only this could be a permanent thing. 

\-----

Alfred woke up around the same time as Arthur. The shrill ringing of his phone reminded both of them that Arthur had responsibilities. It also reminded the American that he wanted to do something special for his boyfriend. He was going to attempt to create a full English breakfast. Except, he was going to Americanize a lot of it because some of it sounded absolutely disgusting. Yeah, it had weird stuff like beans, but he’d read that it allowed fucking pudding. Except, he quickly found out that pudding was not a delicious chocolatey treat. 

So, he was going to do his best and Arthur better appreciate it because getting up early on a Saturday was a sin in his religion. 

Cooking the meats was easy. He had plenty of bacon on hand and the sausage were a great andouille brand that he absolutely loved to use whenever he made gumbo. His late grandmama had been born and raised in New Orleans. Her ghost would haunt him if he didn’t use the good sausage. His bacon was in nice strips, unlike that weird ham disaster Matthew claimed was bacon, and his sausage sizzled with grease. 

The eggs and toast was easy, too. You couldn’t fuck up fried eggs and toast. Alfred made those whenever he could because it was cheap and easy and full of protein. One of the students he tutored had chickens and Alfred accepted part of his pay-rate in free chicken eggs. Those cooked beside the meat without much issue with the toast darkening in the toaster.

Now came the tricky parts he was going to wing. Since he wasn’t grilling tomatoes, he pulled out his Mom’s fried green tomatoes recipe and battered up them babies to fry. They fried up happily on a back burner as he completely tossed out the idea of mushrooms and contemplated the beans. Did he really want to open a can of beans and heat them up? No. He did not. Not even for Arthur.

Instead, he grabbed a few frozen hashbrowns from the freezer. Once his fried green tomatoes were firm, he used the sizzling oil for the hashbrowns. It was a massive operation to keep an eye on the entire kitchen, but somehow Alfred managed to keep everything from burning. By the time Arthur finished with his Skype call with his brother, Alfred had everything plated except one last item. He walked to his pantry to pick up two pudding cups and plopping them onto the plates. 

“Come eat,” he called into the bedroom after he heard their ‘goodbyes’. Alfred was practically bouncing as the other man walked into the kitchen and blinked in surprise. “I made breakfast!”

“You..attempted to make a fry-up.” Alfred could see his lips twitching into a smile as he walked further into the kitchen to get a better look at the plate. “Al…”

“I didn’t attempt anything,” Alfred quipped, “I just removed anything I thought was too weird and added better options. I tried to make it equal. Fried green tomatoes for grilled tomatoes. Beans for hashbrowns. Delicious chocolate pudding for whatever the fuck black pudding is.” His ramblings were cut short by Arthur grabbing his face and smashing their lips together. Oh. Fuck. This was nice, too. When Arthur pulled away, he knew he sounded like an overeager child when he asked if it was a good idea. 

“Love,” Arthur whispered, “no one has ever done anything like this for me. No one has ever cared to…to give me little comforts. I…Christ, Alfred. I think I’m falling in love with you.” 

Alfred’s heart swelled until he felt like it would burst right out of his chest. “Arthur, baby,” he cooed, “I know I’m in love with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the responses! I enjoy reading every single one of them and they encourage me to continue this faster.


	6. Will they eat me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go to Canada they said, it would be fun they said.

The steady clicking of Arthur’s fingers across his keyboard in the corner of the room was a nice bit of ambiance for Alfred as he destroyed Ripto’s minions with Spyro’s ‘super flame’. He’d been on this one level for an hour now, but he’d managed to grab another power-up just in time to knock the villain out. 

Fuck you, orange-unicorn-dinosaur. 

With the load screen playing in front of him, Arthur let out a deep moan of frustration. Being the ever-caring boyfriend, Alfred grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it in his direction. It sounded like it hit him, but he really didn’t know. Alfred was splayed across the living room floor in his boxers and socks after the most miserable midterm exam. He literally thought his brain would turn to mush at one point. “You’re interrupting my killing over here.” 

“I didn’t realize you collecting dragon eggs was more important than my suffering,” Arthur dryly retorted as he heard the man’s laptop shut with a sound ‘click’. “Will you put me out of my misery?” 

Alfred pressed the ‘pause’ button just in time to see his boyfriend climb over the back of the couch and fall onto the cushions. “For your information, this is Ripto’s Rage so there are no dragon eggs here. Just stupid orbs.” He placed his controller on the floor in front of him before crawling over to kneel at the edge of the couch. Arthur had his face buried in a pillow and looked like he needed peace and quiet. 

Alfred poked him hard in the shoulder. “Did you finish your essay?”

His answer was another groan of frustration. Arthur said something into the couch cushion, but it was muffled, and Alfred didn’t understand him. When he poked the man again, Arthur’s hand snapped out and smacked him in the stomach. 

“Ouch, ass.” 

Arthur chuckled as he rolled onto his side and pulled the pouting American into a kiss. “Apologies, I didn’t realize you were delicate.” He leaned against the back of the couch with his arm thrown over his eyes. Alfred really wished he could see them right now because his eyes were among his most favorite feature on the man. Obviously, he was being sappy today, but that was fine. “To answer your question,” Arthur began as Alfred tugged his arm away to fully see his face, “no. I have one more page to write and zero motivation to do so.”

Oh, he could understand that good ole’ procrastination bug. He got it a lot, especially during testing week. It was that midpoint during the semester where everything was terrible, and school tried to kill you. Alfred was looking forward to the upcoming summer break. Considering both he and Arthur took classes over winter break, he liked to think they were both desperate for some kind of vacation. 

He sighed as he nudged Arthur’s chin up, “babe, you have one more page and then we’re off for a week. One page separates you from freedom.” When that didn’t seem to encourage his boyfriend, Alfred gave him a flirty smirk and he leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I’ll suck you off.” 

“While I work?” 

Alfred rolled his eyes at that silly question. “Nope,” he said with a ‘pop’ of the ‘P’. “I actually want you to focus on that essay and not my fantastic mouth.” As Arthur weighed his options, he returned back to his game. He had more orbs to get, after all. 

‘Ding’

Dammit. Alfred paused his game once more to grab his phone from the table. Who the fuck was texting him? Arthur was the only one that texted him on a daily basis. 

(From Matthew) What’re you doing for spring break? 

Oh! Mattie. His younger brother was usually busy with work. They were only a year apart, which made for a difficult family tree. His mom met his stepdad while she was pregnant with him. He didn’t know his biological dad because his mom didn’t know him either. When she turned 34, Allison Jones decided she’d never get married, but she still wanted a child so she went to a local sperm bank. It worked, she got pregnant, and then in a shocking turn of fate, met Nathaniel Williams. Despite being nearly eight months pregnant with Alfred, his mother fell in love. They married when Alfred was three months old and got pregnant with Matthew soon afterwards. In fact, their birthdays were only two days apart. 

He loved his brother, but Matthew was seriously busy. He’d always been determined to step into his father’s footsteps and studied zoology. He worked at the very same wildlife reserve as their father but was slowly taking on more responsibilities. 

(To Matthew) Hey bro!! I don’t have anything planned rn. Y? 

He didn’t have to wait long. The little bubbles appeared on his screen before he could move to pick up his controller again. 

(From Matthew) Come to Canada. You can bring your boyfriend.

While it would be nice to go to Canada for spring break, he couldn’t just ask Arthur to drop his plans. He was sure the prince had something to do with his family or some kind of royal responsibility. 

(To Matthew) Why would I want to come to Canada??

Nearly immediately the bubbles popped up again. 

(From Matthew) To meet Kuma’s cubs and so I can meet your boyfriend. 

Holy shit. Kumajirou had cubs? It had been a difficult day releasing the polar bear back into the wild because both boys thought they’d never see their childhood friend again. Silly bear still came around whenever they were at the preserve. Him meeting a lady polar bear to have cubs with was big news. Alfred almost felt like an uncle or something. 

(To Matthew) Okay, fine. One better be named after me if I’m dragging myself and Arthur all the way to Canada. 

He glanced down at the response to see a picture of two tiny, adorable polar bear cubs. Matthew had both of them labeled as ‘baby A’ and ‘baby B’. Alfred felt like his heart was going to melt at the adorableness in the picture. He didn’t even care that Matthew ignored his name suggestion. He tossed his phone back on the couch as he turned to see Arthur back at the table with his laptop open. As much as he wanted to interrupt the man, he needed to finish that paper. He settled down with his controller and went back to kicking dinosaur ass. 

\---

It hadn’t taken much to convince Arthur to visit his brother. Of course, Alfred wasn’t going to admit that he’d asked him while he was on his knees with the man’s dick in his hand. In the end, the trip was a welcomed distraction from school and the media. Though Alfred paid little attention to those things, he would sometimes see pictures of himself in the gossip magazines. He had more followers on Twitter and Instagram now, but he didn’t really care about any of that. He kept his relationship with Arthur private. He had everything he could want right now because they had support from friends and family. His parents had met Arthur over Skype and adored him. His brother had invited them to stay for a week in the Great White North. Arthur’s family was hesitant, but Alistair added him on Snapchat. He kept sending Alfred baby pictures of Arthur.

It was going great. 

But this was their first trip together and they were driving instead of taking a plane. This was the true test of the relationship. At the beginning of the trip, Alfred had been full of fears. What if Arthur didn’t let him belt out songs at the top of his lungs? Or if he did something weird like refused to play all Alfred’s favorite road trip games? Or even worse, what if he slept the entire way and left Alfred to his own devices? They had an eight-hour trip! He needed someone to keep him occupied.

It turned out that all of those fears were unfounded. Not only did Arthur let him belt out songs, he sang too. Hearing Arthur sing the ‘girl parts’ for ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ was the highlight of their entire day. He played all of Alfred’s games until they ran out of things to ‘Spy’ and didn’t sleep at all. 

They had fun together. 

They made several stops along the way. A fruit stand outside of New York, a strange little museum in Pennsylvania, and Niagara Falls after they got into Canada. They were staying at Matthew’s place for the week. His work at the wildlife research center netted him a cushy house near actual civilization. Since polar bears tended to prefer more artic climates, Mattie lived at the facility when he was working, but at the house on his off days. It was just a quick flight in a tiny plane to the facility for his brother. Their Dad had done the same thing when they were children. It would be nice to be underneath the same roof with his brother again.

When they finally made it to the little cabin, Matthew was sitting on the front porch in an old rocking chair. Alfred hoped he hadn’t waited for them all afternoon like a dork. As he climbed out of the car, he found himself unable to stop the smile stretching across his face. “Yo! Mattie! Come help with the luggage.” 

As his brother jogged down the stairs, Arthur stepped out of the passenger side and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “It’s gorgeous here.” If he thought this was gorgeous, Alfred couldn’t wait to show him the tundra. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and gave him a gentle squeeze as Matthew rounded the car. 

“It’s about time you got here.”

“Shut up.” Alfred reached out to punch his brother’s shoulder as he tugged him over to introduce him to Arthur. “Mattie, this is Arthur,” he nudged his brother over, “and Art, this is Mattie.”

Arthur chuckled as he shook Matthew’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet the man that survived growing up with Alfred.” 

Alfred’s squawk of disapproval was ignored by both men. “Nice to meet you, too.” Matthew was quick to wrap his arm around Arthur’s shoulders and walk him towards the house. “Oh, I have plenty of stories to tell you. We’ll let Alfred grab the bags.” 

“You can’t just leave me out here!” Alfred called out as the two disappeared into the house. Cursing and grumbling to himself, he picked up his ratty-old duffle bag and Arthur’s fancy wheeled suitcase to lug into the cabin. He listened to the sounds of his brother telling his boyfriend about the time he dressed up as superman and jumped from their tree house. 

He wanted to interject that ‘no’ he hadn’t done it because he thought he could fly. He jumped because he thought he could glide through the air. Huge difference. But he didn’t stop his brother from telling those embarrassing stories about him because that was just the family initiation. Instead, he carried their luggage into the spare bedroom and returned just in time to hear Matthew telling the story of the time he tried to set a trap for Santa Claus and ended catapulting the tree through the front window. 

“Dad thinks someone is breaking into the house and runs downstairs in his boxers and a hockey stick in his hand,” Matthew is telling through laughter, “and Al’s just standing down there with his hand around a broken bit of rubber and a tree branch. There’s glass everywhere, Kuma is whining from his kennel, and Mom just goes back to bed.”

“I’m hope you’re telling him about all the terrible things you used to do, too,” Alfred hissed as he walked into the living room and tugged his brother’s hair. Because, you know, he was an adult and could get away with it now. “Don’t let him fool you, he was a devil. He got me into more trouble than the other way around.”

Arthur just shook his head as he reached across the back of the couch to take his hand. That sweet little smile is enough for Alfred’s heart to just melt out of his chest. “Is that so?”

Alfred nodded his head fervently. His brother wasn’t an angel by any means. “One time Matthew decided we should sneak onto Dad’s plane. They didn’t realize we were there until he slipped out of the cargo hold and asked Dad for a snack.” 

He watched as his brother’s cheeks turned red, “I was six! I think you’re forgetting about the time you thought it would be a great idea to steal the car and go to that concert in Chicago.”

“Borrow!” Alfred insisted, “I borrowed that car!” Matthew stuck his tongue out at him, and Alfred reached forward to shove him off the couch. 

It was only when both brothers were wrestling on the floor that Arthur cleared his throat. “Take it outside if you’re going to act like children.” Instead of stopping, Alfred reached for Arthur’s legs and tugged him down to the floor. “Alfred!” He shouted as he smacked his shoulder even as the American pulled him into a bear hug. “Now you really are acting like a child,” he hissed in exasperation, simply letting the American cling to him. 

“You’re making this weird,” Matthew told his brother as he playfully kicked him in the ass before standing up and dusting off his clothes. “If you’re going to make out, don’t do it on my floor.”

Alfred laughed as Arthur sputtered and he suddenly found himself alone on the floor. Arthur’s cheeks were a cherry red. Since he did feel a little bad for embarrassing his boyfriend, he crawled over to peck his cheek. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” 

“I’m not,” he insisted as he reached out to hold Alfred’s cheek. “I’m spent my whole life trying to hide these emotions and it’s just not possible when I’m with you. You are wrecking my entire world, Alfred Jones.” He leaned in for a proper kiss, “and I can’t say I’m upset about it.” 

How could Alfred not get a little teary-eyed over such a declaration? He knew this was just the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but that didn’t matter to him. He wanted to lavish Arthur with love and affection and he didn’t care who saw. He didn’t care about anything except Arthur. 

“If you two are done making googly-eyes at each other,” Matthew called from the kitchen, “we can head to the facility. I’m a little worried about one of the cubs. She’s just a little underweight. I want to bring them some fish tonight.” 

With Matthew fretting like an old mother hen, Alfred decided it was best to go on to the facility tonight. He pulled two thick coats out of his brother’s utility closet and handed one to his love. On the way, he tried to explain that the plane they were taking looked bad but was actually very reliable. 

As Arthur spied the little two engine plane that seemed to be held together with duct tape and string, he twisted Alfred’s thumb. “I swear to God, Alfred, if I die in this plane, I’m haunting you for the rest of your life.” 

Alfred wasn’t going to retort that you couldn’t haunt a ghost, but that wouldn’t have helped their situation. Once they were settled in the plane, everything went just fine. No one died and they had a gorgeous view of the Canadian wilderness. Even once they stepped out of the plane, the surrounding area looked like something out of a Hallmark Card. 

Matthew used his clearance to get them into the facility and brought them down a long series of hallways until they were in a main control room. Alfred immediately wanted to press the buttons, but Arthur stopped him before he got the chance. 

Fun-sucker. 

“We tagged Kuma before we released him back into the wild,” Matthew explained to them as he typed in the tag id for their childhood friend. Soon enough, the map before them ignited to showcase a single blinking dot. 

“He’s only a few kilometers from us,” Arthur pointed out. When Alfred threw his boyfriend an astonished look, the man only shrugged and gave him a one-word answer. “Navy.” Oh. Well, that made sense. He wondered what else Arthur knew from his time in the Royal Navy. He didn’t talk about it at all, so Alfred assumed it hadn’t been all sunshine and roses. 

Matthew nodded his head in agreement, “Kuma never goes far from the facility. We’ve been monitoring him for a while now since the cubs appeared. It would be dangerous to approach if the mother was with them, but there’s been no sign of her.” He frowned as he looked at the screen, “which is highly unusual. We’re speculating that Kuma didn’t father them and just adopted them.” 

“Does this mean we get to take the snowmobiles?” Alfred questioned hopefully, letting out a ‘whoop’ of excitement when his brother nodded his head. 

Only after they were properly dressed in warm clothes and fitted with goggles did the trio start off on their little adventure. Since Alfred and Matthew both had experience in the tundra, they decided to only bring two snowmobiles. Arthur rode behind him as they carefully made their way through snow and ice. Those few kilometers seemed a hell of a lot longer with the icy wind blowing in their faces and the rumble of the motor underneath them. 

When they finally stopped, it was Matthew that got off first and pulled out a small bucket of fish from his pack. “Kuma!” He called out as he waved the fish around. 

“What if another bear shows up?” Arthur questioned, even if his voice was muffled against Alfred’s shoulder. 

“This is Kuma’s territory,” Alfred explained as he turned to rub his hands across Arthur’s shoulders to generate some more warmth. “He’s the only one that stays this close. He trusts us and most polar bears don’t. For good reason.” His face settled into a grim line as he watched his brother call out again. 

For nearly an hour, they called and waved the fish around until finally a large, white figure came barreling out of the woods. Arthur tensed against his back as the massive polar bear charged at Matthew and toppled him over. The only thing that kept Alfred from charging over there was the sound of his brother’s laughter. Kuma had always clung to him far more often than Alfred. 

Almost as soon as Kuma let Matthew up, two cubs appeared from the forest line. It was sweet watching them run towards their father. It was obvious they were hesitant, but the fish treats were enough to sway them over. Alfred stood up once he saw his brother wave him towards them. “Come on,” he told Arthur, “I want to introduce you to Kuma.” 

This had to be done very gently. Kuma was usually a very gentle bear, but he was still a wild animal. As they approached, his head perked up in interest before inching closer to the duo. Arthur was firmly behind Alfred at this point, which was fine. When Kuma sniffed towards him and finally bunted his snout against Alfred’s hand, the tension seemed to wash off him. 

“He’s got a lot of teeth,” Arthur pointed out. 

Alfred chuckled, “but he’s a sweetheart. Hey Kuma. Missed you buddy.” He rubbed the bear’s head like you would a massive dog before turning to gently hold Arthur’s hand. “Kuma,” he said softly, “this is Arthur, my boyfriend. He’s wanted to meet you, too.” He watched as the bear bunted Arthur’s hand with his snout and continued hitting it every so often. Alfred laughed, “he wants you to pet him. Go on, he’s like an overgrown dog.” 

Kuma bounced between them and Matthew for most of the evening. The cubs seemed to adore Arthur. They liked nipping at his heels and biting on his baggy snow pants. One managed to bite a hole into the bottom, which had Arthur scolding him like a young child. 

It was wonderful to share this part of his life with Arthur. It was unusual and strange, but it was something uniquely and purely Alfred. One the ride back, he leaned into his boyfriend’s hold a little more and tried not to smile as Arthur bitched at him for going too fast. 

If they could survive a road trip and polar bears together, they could survive anything, right? 

“Alfred,” Arthur prodded him as they neared the facility, “I wanted to see how well this went before I offered…but, my mother has invited you to spend the summer with us.” 

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the love and support for this fic! It really does have a special place in my heart! All of your reviews are appreciated. 
> 
> I'm sure someone is far more knowledgable about Canada and polar bears, so ignore anything in this chapter that is incorrect or sketchy. It's fanfiction. We're making it up as we go.


	7. Alfred's Proposal to Unban Kinder Egg Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred convinces Arthur to take him to London. Touristy things ensue.

They arrived at Norwich Airport late at night. Arthur insisted it was easier for security if they arrived in the country on a red-eye flight. He also promised it would help with jetlag since they stepped off the plane around midnight. Seeing as Alfred wasn’t the expert at international travel, he let Arthur do all of the planning. Turns out, it was a fantastic idea because he led Alfred through customs and into a darkly tinted car without any major snags

The car ride was quiet. Mostly because Alfred snoozed against Arthur’s shoulder. So, he missed driving up the long driveway and through the black gates of the Sandringham House. It had been Arthur’s great-grandfather’s house and it had been chosen as their little ‘escape’ for the summer. He even missed the first sight of the massive red brick house looming over the hilly countryside. If he had been awake, he would have thought it was the most pretentious thing he’d ever seen in his entire life.

He would have told Arthur that, too. 

Since he wasn’t awake, he missed that grand opportunity. He did finally awake up after Arthur nudged him in the side with his elbow. He must have looked like a newborn foal as he stumbled out of the car with wide yawn. “What time is it?”

“Late,” Arthur responded as he rubbed his hand up Alfred’s back. He leaned into the touch for a moment before turning to grab their luggage out of the trunk. His boyfriend stopped him. “They’ll get our luggage. I need to get you in bed. Mum will let us sleep in tomorrow, but I can’t make a promise for my brothers.” 

Alfred grumbled something in return, but mostly just followed Arthur into the massive house. He was barely aware of the numerous hallways and corridors because he was doing good just to put one foot in front of another. Apparently, Arthur had a ‘set of rooms’ in this estate. They entered the main door, but there was a little parlor in the main room and an offshoot room for the bed. When they finally reached the bedroom, he promptly passed out in the bed. 

He was still conscious enough to hear Arthur laugh at him and felt the man dutifully remove his shoes and shoving him further on ‘his’ side of the bed. He was still conscious when Arthur joined him because he remembered being thrilled that he’d have the man at his side. They’d been staying together so often now that it felt weird not to sleep with Arthur pressed against him. 

His last waking thought was that this was going to be the best summer of his life. 

XXXXX

“I can’t believe Mum is letting you two stay in the same rooms,” a scuffle could be heard as Alfred returned to the land of the living from the clutches of sleep. He didn’t move right off the bat because Arthur was hissing at one of his brothers to ‘knock it off before you wake him up’. Alfred mostly wanted to hear what they were saying, even if eavesdropping was a little unethical. It wasn’t like they were in the same room, after all. He could just hear them through the door and he was curious about a few dynamics. Arthur wasn’t good at opening up sometimes. 

“I told Mum she wasn’t sticking him in some half-used guest room. I haven’t even told him about half the engagements we’re expected at this summer. I wanted to give him some…some reprieve from the bullshit that is going to be tossed at him.” 

Oh, so this was a ‘working’ holiday? Arthur had mentioned several times that being a prince meant there were certain obligations they needed to uphold. Since the youngest prince had been ‘missing’ from the public eye for such a long time, there would come a day when he was expected to return to his duties. Alfred should have realized that those duties would be important during their summer here. 

He didn’t mind, honestly. Alfred loved people and he loved meeting new people. While the whole ‘etiquette’ thing would be a drag, he was sure his Mama taught him enough manners that he could wing it. If he fucked up, well, he’d just work not to fuck up next time. At the end of the day, he wasn’t abandoning Arthur. 

He just didn’t need to cause an international incident. 

“Bullshit? You mean royal duty,” a new voice chided, “it’s been very difficult to explain to reporters why you’re still receiving public funds and not working for the Crown. Not to forget, your wild, partying ways have left such a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. They don’t trust you.” Alfred could hear Arthur go quiet for a moment before something heavy hit the wall. 

“I’m not receiving public funds and you know it. Mum pays for my tuition out of my trust. My spending money comes from my trust. I haven’t taken a damn thing I’m not entitled to. I am sick and tired of everyone throwing my past into my face.” His voice wobbled for a moment, “I am sober and have been for over a year. I don’t need them to trust me. I need my family to trust me.”

Finally, Alfred could not take anymore. He sat up in bed and called out to his boyfriend. “Hey, hon?” He hadn’t undressed last night, so he didn’t have any concern about walking out of the bedroom door and into the main parlor room. 

“Alfred, love. Good morning. Come meet two of my brothers, Rhys and Liam.” Arthur looked like he was fighting a war despite the fact that he was sitting on one of those high-backed fancy chairs. His hands were clenched into fists and his back ramrod straight. Alfred walked over to place his hand on Arthur’s upper back as some resemblance of fleeting comfort. His boyfriend melted against him and his fists unclenched to rest along the arms of the chair. 

It gave him a chance to really look at the middle children of the royal family. Rhys was the one with the longer, wavy hair. It was so weird that his older brothers got the bright red hair of their mother, but Arthur had his father’s coloring. He wondered if that was a problem when they were growing up. He knew his brother loved to tease him mercilessly for no reason sometimes. He couldn’t imagine what three brothers would do versus his one. 

Rhys was the second oldest and in his early 30s. He knew that from Arthur’s little ‘break-down’ of his family on the plane ride over. He was the only one married, but no children yet. (That was important, apparently.) He was the one that went into the Royal Airforce and was still active duty. From Arthur’s grumbling somewhere over the Atlantic, he learned that Rhys was the most serious of his brothers. Rhys was the one that seemed to be the most critical of Arthur. 

Alfred automatically decided he was the one he’d need to charm. “Hey,” he greeted with a wave of his hand, “I’m Alfred Jones. It’s great to meet both of you.”

Liam was the one that stepped forward to offer his hand to Alfred. “I can’t believe Artie convinced you to come. Welcome to the lion’s den.” 

He laughed as Arthur swatted his brother. He didn’t mind the jokes because he knew it was partly the truth. No need to sugarcoat it. “It didn’t take much convincing. I wanted to spend the summer with him.” 

Which was the truth. Liam was the second youngest and also in his early 30s. He was engaged and the wedding was sometime in the winter. Arthur bitched about it the entire first hour of the plane ride because apparently royal weddings were a logistical nightmare. Plus, it was supposed to be during midterm week next semester and Arthur was already dreading the makeup work. 

Alfred was beginning to realize that his darling love just liked to complain about his family. It was cute. 

“You’ll probably change your tune,” Rhys quipped as he crossed his arms over his chest, “after the first banquet.” 

Liam shoved his brother, “you’re picking the most miserable part of our job to complain about. No one likes wearing stuffy suits and mingling with foreign dignitaries. There’s plenty of fun events, too. Tours to Commonwealth nations, sporting events,” he listed off a few more places until Rhys’ sour face turned exasperated and he shoved his brother back. Arthur’s eyes were rolled so far back in his head at their antics that Alfred was afraid they’d get stuck that way. 

Despite the lightheartedness, he didn’t forget the harsh words from before. He didn’t forget that they’d made Arthur so tense on his first morning back. He wouldn’t cause a scene in front of them right now. He’d bide his time. 

For now. He had to be strategic and the best way was to simply focus on his boyfriend. 

“Arthur promised he’d take care of me. I trust him.” 

He didn’t turn his head, but he felt his boyfriend’s hand come up to wrap around his own. “We had such a late night,” Arthur drawled as he stood up and shooed his brothers out, “so we’re going to clean up for the day.” Alfred watched as the youngest Kirkland brother kept shoving and nudging his brothers out before locking the door behind him. 

“That wasn’t so...muwh---” Alfred grunted as he suddenly found himself with an armful of eager and devastatingly handsome prince. He returned those desperate kisses with some of his own before pulling away with a laugh. “I have gross morning breath and everything. Give a guy a warning next time.”

His morning breath didn’t seem to matter at all. Arthur pulled him down for another kiss and pointed towards the bathroom. “You’re doing me in the bathroom. Hop to it.” 

Well, he certainly wasn’t going to turn that order down. 

“Sir, yes, sir.”

XXXXX

Since the Queen and Arthur’s eldest brother weren’t arriving until the following Monday, they had the entire weekend for Alfred to do touristy things. They were staying overnight at a hotel in London with a promise that they could stay two nights if he wanted to. While he was sure Arthur could have arranged some special kind of tour for them, he’d insisted on having the ‘real experience’. So, after they cleaned up from their bathroom activities, they dressed themselves and Arthur ‘borrowed’ a car. 

Since Alfred had the look of a regular tourist, he didn’t worry much about a disguise. Arthur, on the other hand, had to blend in. Hiding those humongous eyebrows was difficult, but a combination of creative make-up and a beanie with sunglasses had him looking more like a regular student. Also, the American had a very difficult time keeping his hands off him during the 2-hour drive from Sandringham to London. It almost felt like a honeymoon. 

Arthur was free with his smiles and was never swatting his hand away. In fact, when they finally made it to the hotel, the prince eagerly held his hand as they checked in underneath an alias. While it was neigh impossible to see everything in one afternoon, Alfred had a fantastic time walking around Hyde Park and seeing buildings older than his entire country. Experiencing the Tube was great, too. Really made him appreciate the art of ignoring everyone around you. Because, he was sure one old lady recognized Arthur, but simply gave him a subtle nod before going back to her crossword. 

It was a good day, even if he was exhausted from running the ‘gauntlet’. He’d seen Hyde Park, Big Ben, the Tower of London, and even ridden in the London Eye. He went to Platform 9 ¾ and Abbey Road. He even convinced Arthur to take him to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, despite the obvious groaning and huffing that came along with it. Through it all, he enjoyed knowing that Arthur was there with him and helping him experience these things. 

That night, they ordered room service and ate Kinder Surprise eggs together. Arthur had dipped inside a store to buy an entire bag of weird candy and seeing the holy grail of his childhood inside had been too good to pass up. Alfred was currently trying to figure out if he could smuggle the kinder eggs into the US. 

Once he was done putting together the little toy from his kinder egg, Alfred rolled onto his side to greedily pull Arthur into his arms. “Thank you for letting me be a tourist today.” 

Arthur scoffed above him and began playing with his hair. “Think nothing of it. It was nice, actually. I’d forgotten that some of that stuff is fun, especially when you’re just a regular person. I wanted you to have something nice to remember, even if my mother runs you off.” 

Alfred glance up at his boyfriend before leaning forward to steal a kiss. “She’s not going to run me off. I’m resistant. Like mold or something.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes, “good to know the man I love compares himself to mold. I’ll write that into our wedding vows.”

“You better,” Alfred quipped, “I won’t forgive you if you don’t.”

It wasn’t exactly a confession of love, but it was something big. Alfred knew they’d been moving rather quickly in the last few months, but he wasn’t going to doubt his feelings. He knew he loved Arthur. He knew he’d stick by him, even if the royal family disagreed with it. At the end of the day, Alfred could easily see Arthur picking him over his title. He hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that because that was a lot to ask of one person. 

For now, he just focused on loving his boyfriend and making love to him while they had the privacy to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to review!


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